Aggreko delivers Games savings

16 November 2022

A report by Aggreko into the power generation equipment that the specialist hirer supplied for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games this summer shows that a significant reduction in carbon emissions was achieved.

As the Official Modular Energy Solutions Supporter for the event, Aggreko was responsible for the temporary energy framework for all 15 of the Games’ venues.

A ‘mains first’ approach was utilised at each venue’s existing infrastructure and, where temporary energy was needed, Aggreko provided appropriate equipment.

This included powering large-scale venues such as Alexander Stadium and Coventry Stadium & Arena, to other key sites including the Birmingham 2022 Athletes’ Villages at the University of Birmingham and at the University of Warwick.

Aggreko’s fleet included 117 Stage V generators ranging from 30kVA up to 600kVa, all running on hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 90 per cent compared against a traditional diesel generator. This gave an overall saving of around 1,614 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents).

With considerations for the local surroundings of venues, the acoustically designed equipment also resulted in significant noise reduction. 

The generators operated in a load-on-demand configuration, replacing one large generator with smaller machines and battery modules that power up or down according to demand. 

In conjunction with the hybrid generators, Aggreko also produced around 10.8MWh of clean solar energy at Victoria Park in Royal Leamington Spa. This accounted for a third of the energy consumed by the venue, with the rest produced at optimal efficiency, says the company.

Picture is a library image of Aggreko equipment (Photo: Alan Guthrie)